Hull construction of submarine vessels



March 31, 1925.

H. E. GRIESHABER HULL CONSTRUCTION OF SUBMARINE VESSELS Filed Feb. 7, 1924 INVENTOR ATTORNEY- Patented Mar. 31, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HUGO EUGENE GRIESHABER, OF GROTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC BOAT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HULL' CONSTRUCTION OF SUBMARINE VESSEL S.

Application filed February 7, 1924. Serial No. 691,307.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Hueo E. GRIESHABER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Groton, in the county of New London, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hull Constructions of Submarine Vessels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled intheart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to submarine vessels and more particularly to the hull construction of such vessels.

In plating the strong portions of the hulls of the larger types of submarine vessels it is necessary to use very thick plates to withstand the depth-test requirements. These thick plates are difficult to manufacture, difficult to handle and difficult to apply to the hull. WVith the ordinary method of shell plating it is necessary to apply seam-straps over the joints if the shell plates are butted together or to use liners between the plates of the outside strakes and the transverse frame members if the shell plates are lapped over each other. Both the seamstraps and liners weigh a great deal in a large submarine vessel and greatly increase the total weight of the vessel.

One object of this invention is to plate the hull of a relatively large submarine vessel in such a way that the necessity of using relatively thick plates is avoided.

Another object is to plate the hull in such way that the use of seam-straps or liners is dispensed with thus lessening the weight of the vessel.

It is a further object of the invention to plate the hull in such a way that relatively thin plates may be made to answer the same purpose as relatively thick plates and at the same time may be so applied as to eliminate the necessity of seam-straps or liners.

According to the invention the strong part of the hull of submarine vessels of the larger types is plated by using two layers of plating instead of one, the plates of each layer being about one-half the thickness of a plate which would have to be used if only one layer of plating were employed. In applying the plates to the hull the scams or joints between the plates in one layer are staggered with respect to those in the other layer so that the plates of the outside layer lie over and cover the seams of the inside layer. In: this way relatively thin plates may be employed which are less "difiicult to manufacture thanthe thick plates, easier to handle and easier to apply to the hull, and at the same time no seam-straps or liners are needed as theplates of the outside layer overlie the seams of the inside layer and serve as seam-straps themselves. A further advantage of this construction is that the edges of the plates are brought into direct compression as required by a vessel of cylindrical form when external pressure is applied thereto.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic transverse section through the hull of a submarine vessel illustrating the improved manner of applying the plating t0 the strong inner hull,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the plating, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the hull showing the relation between the joints in the two layers, both longitudinally and transversely o'fthe vessel.

The submarine vessel represented in the drawing is of the double-hull type. This type of vessel usually has an inner hull of strong construction and an outer hull or lighter construction. The outer hull is rep-' resented diagrammatically at land the inner hull is represented at 2. Inasmuch as relatively thin plating may be used on the outer hull, this hull may be plated in the usual manner. The inner hull, however, which is subjected to the full pressure of submergence must be quite thick and strong in the larger types of vessels to withstand the pressure of deep submergence. It is this inner hull which should be plated in accordance with the invention to eliminate the necessity of using obj ectionably thick plates and to obtain the additional advantages hereinbefore mentioned. The inner hull is, therefore, composed of two layers of plating 3 and 4, the total thickness of the two layers being equal to the thickness of such a plate as would have to be used if only one layer of plating were employed. This reduces the thickness of the plates one-half. When the plates are applied to the hull they are so arranged that the joints or seams 5 between the plates of the outside layer 3 are staggered or broken with respect to the joints or seams 6 between the plates of the inside layer as shown in the drawing. Otherwise expressed, the plates of the outside layer are made to overlie or cover the joints or seams between the plates of the inside layer, the joints are broken both longitudinally and transversely of the vessel as shown in Fig. 3.

The plates may be fastened to the hull in the usual way and if desired the seams both on the inner and outer layers may be welded. 7

Although two layers of plating are shown in the drawing, it is obvious that additional layers may be used if desired and the thickness of the plates reduced accordingly so that the total thickness of the plating will be that which is necessary for the required strength.

It will now be seen that by using relatively thin plates and applying them in two or more layers the necessity of using objectionably thick plates such as would be required in the larger types of submarine vessels is eliminated and at the same time the plates of one layer serve as seam-straps for the joints or seams in the underlying layer thus eliminating the necessity of using seamstraps or liners, which if used in the larger types of submarine vessels would have the effect of objectionably increasing the weight of the vessel.

Although it may usually be desirable to plate, in accordance with the invention, only that part of the hull known as the strong hull or inner hull, nevertheless, the invention is not restricted to the plating of any particular part of a vessel, as the entire hull or any part thereof, may be plated in the manner described.

I claim:

1. A submarine vessel having at least a part of its hull plated with two layers of plating, each layer being composed of plates of less thickness than the thickness of a plate which would have to be used if only one layer of plating were employed and the plates of the outside layer being arranged to overlie and cover the joints between the plates of the inside layer.

2. A submarine vessel having at least a part of its hull plated with two layers of plating, each layer being composed of plates of one-half the thickness of such a plate as would be required if only one layer of plating were employed and the joints or seams between the plates of the outside layer being staggered with respect to" the joints or seams between the plates of the inside layer so that the outside plates will overlie and cover the seams or joints between the'inside plates.

3. A submarine vessel having at least a part of its hull plated with a layer of plating free from seam-straps or liners, and a second layer of plating overlying the first layer, the plates in the second layer overly ing and covering the seams or joints between the plates in the first layer thereby serving the purpose of seam-straps and the plates of each layer being of less thickness than the thickness of a plate which would have to be used if only one layer of plating were employed, and the two layers constituting a composite plating of the required thickness to furnish the necessary strength.

4. A submarine vessel having at least a part of its hull plated with a plurality of layers of plating, the combined thickness of the layers being approximately equal'fto the thickness of such a. plate as would be required if only a single layer were used and the plates in one layer being arranged to overlie and cover the seams or joints between the plates of the underlying layer. 5. A submarine vessel having the strong portion of its hull plated with two layers of plating, each layer being composed of plates of less thickness than the thickness of a plate which would have to be used if only one layer of plating were employed, and the plates of the outside layer being'arranged to overlieand cover the joints between the plates of the inside layer.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HUGO EUGENE GRIESHABER. 

